Segment carrier for typewriting machines



July 17, 1923. v 1,461,717

7 F. H. ARMSTRONG SEGMENT CARRIER FOR TYPEWRITING MACHINES Filed Dec. 30. 1919 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 July 17, 1923. 1,461,717

' F. H. ARMSTRONG SEGMENT CARRIER FOR TYPEWRITING MACHINES Filed Dec. 30 1919 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 To all whom it comern:

Fatented July 17, 19 23.

{UNIT D STATES PATEN orrlca;

ABKSTRONG, OF AUBURN, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOB '10 CORONA GOHPAHY, 1110., Q1 GBOTON, YORK. A QOBPOBA'IION 01: NEW YORK.

v Application filed December 80, 19 19. Serial No. $8,828.

Be it known that I, FRANK H. ARMSTRQNG, a eitihen of the-United States of America,

and aresident of Auburn, county of Cayuga,

State of New York, have invented certain new and useful. Improvements in Segment Carriers for Typewritin Machines, of

' which the following .is a ful and clear specification. y

This invention relates to improvements in segment carriers which are adapted to be vertically shifted to osition the type bars for printing the di erent case characters.

"One of the main objects of the invention is 16 .to

cal

rovide a segment carrier which is verti- Fy shiftable and formed with vertically arranged ball raceways, means being provided for holdin the balls in said raceways and permitting t em to have a limited vertical movement with the segment carrier.

Another object of the invention is to profvide a sheet metal segment carrier having integral ball raceways formed at its ends and -.cooperating with complementary 'sheet metal racewa Anot er 0 ject of the invention is to prosu ported in the machine frame.

vide a vertically shiftable segment carrier with anti-friction bearing devices said devices serving as the means to lock the segment carrier to the machine frame and prevent horizontalmovement thereof, said ant 1 friction devices permittin the desired vertical shifting movement 0 the segment car- There are other important ob ects of the invention which will appear hereinafter.

In the drawings:

Fig.1 is a perspective view of the segnient carrier and its supporting brackets.

' Fig. 2 a perspective view of the carr er detached from its supporting means;-

.- Fig." 3 a horizonta sectional view of the race;

,Fi 5 a detail perspective new of one of L the p ates'for securinga stationary ball race osition;

Fig. 6 a detail perspective view showing the. inner side of the stationary ball race bracket, the ball supporting means being shown in position;

Fig. 7 a detail horizontal view showing a l modified form of the stationary ball race bracket and ball supportin means; and

Fig. 8 adetail perspective view of the modified form of ball support shown in Fig. 7.

eferring the various, parts by numerals, 1 designates a type bar segment which is adaptedto be secured to a segment carrier. 2 by means of screws 3 assing through the carrier plate and into t e se ment, as shown clearly in Fig. 3. It is 0% vious that the segment may be secured to the carrier by any suitable meansand in any desired way. The segment is provided with radial slots adapted to receive the ends of the type bars in the usual manner.

The segment carrier is preferably formed of sheet metal and comprises the back plate 4 which is arranged vertically of the mac ine and extends transversely thereof near the rear frame bar or wall 11. The carrler to the main portion of the plate, as indicated at 5. These forwardly extending portions 5 form raceway flanges in which race ways 6 are formed, said raceways being bent inwardly toward the longitudinal center line of the machine and formed V-shape in plan view. At each end of the carrier plate are formed forwardly extending stiffening against inward pressure. The 'forwardedges of the raceway flanges 5 are bent laterally outwardly to form flanges 9 which lie parallel with the main body of the carrier. The

carrier plate is adapted to be shifted vertical to properly position the type bars for printing the-different case characters. The segment shifting means is not shown herein as it forms no plart of the present invention.

To suplport t e segment car ing plate in anuprig t position and to ho d it against plate at its ends, as is shown in the drawlngs, is bent forwardly at right angles way 14 complementary to the raceway 6 justment of. the raceway 14 carried by the se entl supporting plate. The'flanges 13 lie c ose to the flange 5 when the parts are assembled, as indicated at Fig. 3, and the racewa s thus formed are adapted to receive anti-friction balls 15. These balls serve as means-for locking the segment carryin plate to the relatively stationary br efiets; and hold. said carrier against horizontal movement in any direction. They, however, permit a free vertical shifting of the segment carrier.

The brackets 10 form stationary raceway members which are secured to the rear frame bar of the machine by means of screws 16 which extend through 'said. frame bar and into clamping plates 17 arranged on the inner face of the plates 12. Each plate 12 is formed with horizontal slots 18 through which the clamping screws 16 extend so that by loosening said screws the brackets 10 may be adjusted laterally on the frame bar to a limited extent to secure the proper adto the raceways 6 on the segment carrier. Each clamping 'plate 17 is formed with a forwardly extending flange 19 through which extends horizontally arranged screws 20. The inner ends of these screws aretadapted to bear on the raceway flan cs 13 of the brackets to serve as meansor laterally shifting the brackets after the screws 16 have been loosened.

The raceway flanges 13 are stiffened at their upper ends by forwardly extending lugs 21 formed integral with the upper ends of the plates 12. Formed integral with the lower ends of the plates 12 are forwardly extending bottom plates 22; and said plates are formed with upwardly extending pro-v jections 23 which engage the lower ends of the raceway 14 to sti en the raceway flanges 13 at their lower ends.

To support the balls 15 in the vertical .raceways and permit them to have the desired vertical movement each of said balls is mounted in a forwardly and rearwardly extending retainer bar 24 which is provided with a suitable aperture to receive the ball as shown clearly in Fig. 6. One of these retainer bars and its ball 15 is arranged near the upper end of the raceways and one near the lower end thereof. The rear end of each of these bars is provided with a slot 25adapted to receive a lug 26 formed on the flange 13. The forward end of each of these retainer bars is slotted, as at 27, and is adapted to extend through apertures 28 formed in the forward flange 9 on thecarrier plate. A cross bar 29 formed between the apertures 28 is received in the slot 27 and forms a pivotal connectthe vertically shiftable raceway flange so that the retainer bars will have a limited vertical shiftin movement and-there will be a correspon ing movement of the balls. It isalso manifest that these retainer bars will hold the balls in their proper positions in the vertical raceway.

The segment carrying plate 4 is limited in its downward movement by screws 30 which are mounted in the lugs 8 and are adapted to contact with the bottom plate 22 of the stationary brackets. The segment carrying plate is limited in its upward movement by screws 31 which are mounted in the lugs 21 of the stationary raceway brackets, the lower ends of said screws being adapted to contact with rearwardly ex- 1 tending horizontal lugs 32 formed of the flanges 9, as indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 1. Screws 33 mounted in the lugs 32 serve to limit the intermediate or cap shift of the segment carrier, this intermediate shifting of the carrier being secured by means not shown and which form no part of this invention.

ing plate 17. On the screws 35 are arranged a lock nuts 36. It is manifest that by loosening the screws 16 the stationary brackets may be adjusted inwardly or outwardly by turning the screws 35.

The ball retainer shown in Figs. 7 and 8 consists of a ring 37 formed at diametrically opposite points with laterally extendin lugs 38, one of said lugs extending throng an aperture in the' relatively stationary raceway flange 13 and the other extending through an aperture in the raceway flange 5 of the vertically shiftable segment carrying plate 4. It is manifest that by this means the balls willbe held in their proper positions in the vertical raceways and a limited vertical movement thereof will be permitted. In this-construction of ball retainer it is desirable tohave-the lugs 38 fitting in their apertures so that there will a amount of lost motion Ween the p r From the foregoing it is manifest that the segment carrier will be formed wholly of sheet metal; that it will be light and easily manufactured by stamping operations and that the vertical shiftable part will be mounted on anti-friction devices which lock the shiftable part to the relatively stationary part and hold said shiftable art against horizontal movement 1n any irection. It is also manifest that by mounting the bearin balls near the upper and lower ends of t e raceways the s 1ftable segment carrying plate will be prevented from tilting in an direction and a true vertical movement 0 the segment will be assured.

What I claim is:

1. In a typewriting machine a vertical shiftable segment carrying member, vertically arranged raceways at the ends of said carrying member, relatively stationary complementary raceways mounted in the machine frame, anti-friction balls arranged in said raceways, and individual ball retainers toreceive the balls and connected at one of their ends to the relatively stationary racewa s and at their other ends to the vertical shiftable member whereby the balls wil have a vertical movementwith the vertically shiftable member and will be maintained in their proper relative positions in the raceways.

2. In a typewriting machine a sheet metal segmentcarrying plate formed at its ends with vertically arranged'integralball raceways, horizontally arranged lugs integral with the carrying plate and bearing against the up r and lower ends of the raceways to hol them against inward pressure, a sheet metal raceway bracket adapted to be secured within the machine frame at each end of the segment carrying plate, a ver tical raceway flange formed integral with said bracket, means for mounting the raceway bracket on the machine frame to permit ahorizontal adjustment of said bracket toward and from the ends of the segment carrying plate, lugs formed integral with the raceway bracket engaging the upper and lower ends of the raceways formed upon said bracket, anti-friction balls in the raceways, and ball retainers holding said balls in their proper relative positions within the raceways.

3. In a typewriting machine, the combination of a su port shiftable to changecase and provide with raceways, relatively stationary means rovided with raceways cooperating with tile raceways on the support, rolling elements in the raceways, and individual retaining devices for the rolling elements pivotally connected with the support and the stationary means.

4. In a typewritin machine, the combination of a support s iftable to chan case and provided with raceways, relative y statiohary means provided with raceways cooperatin r with the raceways on the support, rollin e ements in the raceways, and individua retaining devices for the rolling elements each provided with an a erture for receiving. a rolling element an having a pair of oppositely extending lateral pro ectio'ns thereon, said support and stationary means being provided with cooperating pairs of apertures in which the projectiqns on the retaining devices en age;

5. In a typewriting mac ine, the combination of a machine frame, a vertically shiftable sheetmetal segment-carrying plate extending transversely of the frame In a vertical plane and formed at its ends with vertically disposed flanges of channel form in horizontal section, sheet metal members held to the frame and. formed with chan nels cooperating with the channels on said flanges to form ball races antifriction balls in said races, and individual sheet metal ball-retainers extending across the races and I each pivotally connected at opposite ends thereof with said plate and the adjacent sheet metal membe I 6. In a typewriting machine, the combination of a machine frame, a vertically shiftable sheetmetal se ment-carr ing plate provided at its side e ges with anges ex tending fore and aft of the machine, said flanges being pressed inwardly toward the center of the machine to form vertical outwardly facing'ball-channels, a pair of sheet metal brackets held to the machine frame having flanges extending fore and aft of the machine outside of the flanges onthe plate provided with inwardly facing vertical ball channels cooperating with the channels on the plate flanges to form ball races, and balls in said races.

7. In a typewriting machine, the combination of a machine frame, a vertically shiftable sheet metal segment-carrying plate provided, at its side edges with flanges extending fore and aft of the machine, said flanges being pressed inwardly toward the center of the machine to form vertical outwardly facing ball-channels, a pair of sheet metal brackets held to the machine frame having flanges extending fore and aft of the machine outside of the flanges on the plate provided with inwardly facing vertical ball channels cooperating with the channels on the plate flanges to form ball races, balls in sald races, individual sheet metal ball retainers extending between the flanges on the plate and brackets and each having a/ballreceiving aperture therein, and means pivotally connecting each retainer with a ball channel flange on'the plate and a ball channel flange on the ad acent bracket at opp osite sides of the ball race" formed by, the

channels in said flanges.

8.' a typewritmg machine, theicomblnation of a machine frame, a vertically sh ftable' segment carrier provided with yertically extending outwardly facing race ways, a pair of upstanding members mountsupport, said Y Li =gitudinal edges thereof to form an outchannels, a -the raceway, and means pivotally and slidablyconnecting' the ball retainer at oppo- 'ing in sai sliding pivotal connections with said support and one of able members. a 11. A shiftable support for a-type-bar j an angle to the opposite right angle to the plane of the main pored "on the machine frame adjacent the ends of the carrier and provided with vertically extending inwardly facingraceways coopcrating 'withthe raceways on the carrier, balls traveling in said raceways, means for adjusting' said upstanding members inwardly and outwardly, retainers each having laterally slidable' and horizontal pivotal connections with said carrier and one of said adjustable members at opposite sides of one of said .ball raceways. 9. In a typewriting machine, the combination of a support shiftable to change case, a guiding member, cooperating raceway channels on said support and member, means for a adjusting said member transv'ersely of the path of movement of the support, a ball in the raceway formed by said ball retainer extending across cooper in segment comprising a sheet metal plate having a flat main bodv portion to which a segment is adapted to be secured. said plate having integral side portions extending at plane of the main body portion and each provided with a longitudinally extending ball channel.

12. A shiftable tvnebar segment support comprising a flat sheet metal plate having side portions thereofbent at a tion thereof, each of said side portions be pressed inwardly intermediate the ionwardly facing ball-channel.

13. A shiftable type-bar segment support comprising a sheet metal plate having a flat body portion and integral end portions bent at an'angle to the plane of the body portion, said end and individual ballsaid adj ust-* longitudinait ball-c a'nnel pre'ssed in one face thereof "and said plate being provided with integraldugs engaging the opposite facesof said end'portions to brace the same.

f 14. A shiftablet pe-b'ar' carrier comprising a sheet metal-pi ate. having'side portions orti otis each having a thereof bentfat anangle-to the plane of the main body portionof the plate and formed with ball channe'ls in one face thereof, and pairs of lugs en aging one of'said side portions at longitu inally spaced points on the face thereof opposite that provided with the ball channel.

15. An antifriction sheet-metal guide member for shiftable type-bar supports having two angularly disposed walls one of which is provided with a ball channel in one face thereof and the other of which is provided with integral bracing portions engaging the other face of said channeled member. a

16. An antifriction guide member for shiftable type-bar supports comprising a single piece of sheet metal bent to form two angularly disposed walls, one of said walls having a ball'channel'pressed therein, said piece of sheet metal having integral bracing portions for the walls.

17. In a typewrlting machine, the com bination of a machine frame, an upstanding support shiftable vertically in the frame to change case and provided with outwardly facing raceways, a pair of laterally adjust able upstanding guide members each having two angularly disposed vertical webs one of which is provided with transverse slots and the other of which extends transversely of the support and is provided with an inwardly facing raceway cooperating with the adjacent raceway on the support, balls in said raceways, a pair of clamping members each engaging one face of the slotted web of one of said guide members, and clamping screws extending through the slots for adjustably holding the guide members through the medium of said clamping plates. 5

18. In a typewriting machine, the combination of a machine frame, an upstanding support shiftable vertically in the frame to change case and provided with outwardly facing raceways, a pair of laterally adjustable upstanding guide mem- {bers each having two angularly disposed vertical webs one of which is provided with transverse slots and the other of which extends transversely of the support and is provided with an inwardly facing raceway cooperating with the adjacent raceway -15 lugs 'on said plate, each pair of on the support, balls in said raceways, a

pair of clamping members each engaging one face of the slotted web of one of said guide members, and clamping screws experally a ending, inwardl throu h. the rear. .w ll .of, the: machine frame an "the slots in the;

guide .members and threaded into the clamping members.

19.;In 'a typewriting machine, the com bination, of amachine frame, an upstanding support shiftable, vertically} in the frame to. change case and provided with outwardly facing raceways, apair of latbers each having two angular yj disposed vertical webs one of which is; QY ded with transverse slots and the 'ot'er of which through the slots: 1 n the :'guide members a'l lid connecting the clamping members with t e frame, and adjustingdevices' connecting the clamping members and guide mem-' bfirs for shifting said guidemembers later a, y-..

QO In a typewritingjmachine, the combination of' a machine frame, a shiftable type bar support, a .pair of guide members for said support, said members being provided with inwardly facing raceways and sald support being provided with comple: mentary outwardly facing raceways, rollmg element s in' theracewazys, means for re easably'clamp'ing the gui e members to the rear wall of the machine frame, and ad ust1ng screws.- carried by the clamping mealaps for jshif tmg fthe guide members lata y- A 21. In a typewriting, machine, the combination of amain' fral'ne,v a substantially u's'table upstandin' guide memflat support shiftable vertically edgewise in the frame closely adjacent the rear wall of the frame, a type segment held to said support, guides held to the rear wall of the main frame, said guides and support being formed with cooperating raceways, and rolling elements in said raceways.

22. In a typewriting machine, the com-' bination of a main frame, a substantially flat sheet metal segment carrier shiftable vertically ed wise close to the rear wall of the main rame, sheet metal guides held to the rear wall of the main frame, said carrier and guides having cooperating vertical raceways formed directly therein, and rollin elements in said raceways.

23. n a typewriting machine, the combination of a main frame, a sheet metal plate shiftable vertically edgewise close to the rear wall of the ,main frame, sheet metal guides supported on the rear wall of the main frame, said guides and plate being formed wlth cooperating raceways, antifriction rolling elements in the race-' ways, a type-bar segment held to the front face of said plate, and means for adjusting said guides to take up wear in the antifriction bearings.

24. In a typewritin machine, the combination of a main frame, a sheet metal carrier plate shiftable vertically edgewise in the frame close to the rear wall of the frame, a type-bar segment held to the front face of said plate, and means held to the rear wall of the frame for guiding said plate vertically and limiting the extent of upward and downward movements of the ate.

p This specification signed this 22nd day of December, A. D. 1919.

' FRANK H. ARMSTRONG. 

